Sheldon Adelson Is Taking Sands Macau Into His Own Hands

Sheldon Adelson

AP

Las Vegas Sands founder Sheldon Adelson is taking over the Sands China CEO position, the company announced Friday.

According to Bloomberg, Adelson will be appointed on March 6, with Las Vegas Sands COO Robert Goldstein as the interim president.

This change in management follows the retirement of former Sands China CEO Edward Tracy, who announced his departure last week.

Adelson, now 81 years old, was the first of U.S. casino magnates to move into Macau as its gaming industry took off in the early 2000s. Although 2014 gaming revenue contracted for the first time since Macau opened up to casinos in 2002 following China's anti-corruption campaign, Sands China has plans to open its fifth casino in Macau in late 2015.

Hong-Kong based analyst at BNP Paribas told Bloomberg not to expect much strategic change, since Adelson has already been running the business strategy. Shengyong Goh, who used to work at Sands China, said this "would be more of re-aligning and getting Macau and Singapore to report directly to Vegas."

The Wall Street Journal reported that Sands China has seen a slew of executives leaving in recent years. The article cited concerns from Deutsche Bank that the new appointment might set off more departures from the company.

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